44 



THE OOLOGIST 



NOTES 



One summer a pair of Wrens decid- 

 ed to nest in a wren house built for 

 them. After a time I noticed the 

 birds and become disgusted with the 

 box. I could not ascertain why, until 

 after a summer or two, on taking it 

 down, I found a dead wren inside it 

 with a dead wasp clinging to. the neck 

 of the martyr. Question. Did the wasp 

 sting the wren to death, or did the 

 wasp come to feed on the body? 



A. Sidney Hyde, 

 Topeka, Kan. 



THE RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 

 AS AN EGG SUCKER 



That the Red-belly will drill a hole 

 in an orange and return to it until it 

 falls is well known to every orange 

 grower, but that they will enter the 

 hen house and suck eggs was a new 

 one to me and I didn't believe it until 

 I had conclusive proof. This raises 

 the question, if they will suck hens 

 eggs will they not also eat the eggs of 

 other birds when they have the oppor- 

 tunity? 



R. D. Hoyt, 

 Clearwater, Fla. 



1917 MIGRATION NOTES 

 Dates of Arrival at Clinton, Ont. 

 Wild Ducks, Mar. 20th. Wild Geese, 

 Mar. 21st. Robin, March 21st. Song 

 Sparrow, March 24th. Meadowlark, 

 March 25th. Red-winged Blackbird, 

 March 26th. Flicker, April 4th. Cow- 

 bird, April 8th. Purple Martin, Apfil 

 17th. Loggerhead Shrike, April 17th. 

 Kingfisher, April 22nd. Chipping 

 Sparrow, April 22nd. Kingbird, May 

 12th. Bobolink, May 15th. Redstart, 

 May 19th. Chestnut-Sided Warbler. 

 June 3d. 



H. Munroe, 

 Clinton, Ont. Can. 



Swallow at Washington, D. C. was 

 October 14th, which is the record that 

 Chapman "Handbook of the Birds of 

 Eastern North America" gives I 

 noticed in the November-December 

 1917, number of Bird-Lore that it was 

 October 17th. I also noticed that the 

 last record for Philadelphia was Sep- 

 tember 9th. Philadelphia is the same 

 latitude as York (about 90 miles east 

 of York). The occurences of birds about 

 York are much more identical with 

 the occurences of birds about Phila- 

 delphia than they are about Washing- 

 ton. Chapman's "Bird-Life" states 

 the last record for the Barn Swallow 

 about Philadelphia is September 1st, 

 as I stated in the December (1917) 

 Oologist, mine is October 20th. 



Arthur Farquhar, 



York, Pa. 



I stated in the December 1917, 

 Oologist that the last record for Tree 



When the river is partly open a few 

 Herring Gulls can usually be seen. 

 The most abundant bird is the crow. 

 Usually a few Fish Crows can be de- 

 tected among their more vulgar asso- 

 ciates. This winter there seem to be 

 an unusual number of Goshawks 

 among the other hawks. At a place 

 where a small brook flows into the 

 Raritan, three Kingfishers have been 

 staying. More recently a Great Blue 

 Heron has appeared at the mouth of 

 the brook. How these four birds ob- 

 tain enough to eat is a mystery. 



Among the smaller birds which win- 

 ter, here are Cardinals, a few White- 

 throated Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, a 

 few Robins, Winter Wrens, Tufted 

 Titmice, Chickadees, Purple Finches, 

 Gold Finches, Song Sparrows, and 

 Juncos. These are the species most 

 often seen here on a December day, 

 though others can often be added to 

 the list. 



Stuart T. Danforth, 

 New Brunswick, N. J. 



